The Origin of Asthma
by soraxtsuna123
Summary: After a small incident while on a family trip to the lake, a young Ponyboy gets diagnosed with asthma. One-Shot. Request by SuicidalPony1234.


**Request by SuicidalPony1234.**

**Thank you so much for sending in this request!**

**Also, small disclaimer. I don't know what asthma is actually like so this might be inaccurate. I also don't know if spirometry tests were a thing back then. *Shrugs*. Probably not, but, oh well.**

**I called Mr. Curtis Darrel in this and I called Ponyboy's older brother, Darry, Darry. **

**o-o-o**

As a kid, you would think that you were immune to every malady or problems in the world; that you were invincible. As a parent, you would pray that your child would be able to live life without any issues. But, sometimes, stuff just happens.

The Curtis family found out that the youngest of them, Ponyboy, who was just four at the time, wasn't invincible when they were on a family trip to the lake.

The sun was shining high in the sky without a cloud in the sky. A perfect day. It seemed like nothing could go wrong with how perfect everything was going. Everyone was enjoying themselves in some way. Most people were swimming in the crowded lake; others were sprawled out on blankets, chatting with family and friends.

Ponyboy, Soda, and Darry, on the other hand, were all playing tag on the field next to the lake. Their parents were sitting on the blanket nearby, reading and enjoying each other's company. That was until they heard Soda and Darry scream, "Mom! Dad!"

Their voices were filled with urgency and fear, causing their parent's heads to snap up instantly. Soda and Darry were both looming over Ponyboy, pointing at him with their idle fingers. Even though they were far away from them, the terror in their eyes was clearer than the sky. Ponyboy was on his knees, clutching at his chest with distress written all over his face.

As if a switch was flipped, Mr. and Mrs. Curtis went into autopilot, dropping everything instantaneously and running over to their children to find out what exactly was wrong with Ponyboy. As they got closer, they started to hear Ponyboy wheezing whilst hyperventilating. His shoulders rose and dropped in time with his breaths and his nostrils flared simultaneously.

"Oh my god!" Mrs. Curtis exclaimed, causing people to turn towards the commotion. Her eyes went wide as she instinctively scooped Ponyboy up into her arms, but he only batted her away. He clutched at his chest which felt like someone was sitting on it. Everything faded around him as the only thought that was passing through his head was, '_I can't breathe_.' He sucked in, trying to grasp as much air as he could but it was like he was breathing through a straw. It wasn't enough. No matter how hard he tried, he didn't receive enough oxygen.

"What's wrong with him?" Soda asked with wide, teary eyes.

"I…" his father started, swallowing thickly. "I don't know. What happened before this?"

"We were playing, and he just started to breathe really quickly," Darry answered worriedly. "He was doing fine before."

"Nevermind that. What do we do?" Mrs. Curtis demanded, turning to look at her husband for answers. She didn't know what was wrong with her son. It pained her that she couldn't do anything to help him. Here was Ponyboy, looking like he was in so much pain. "What do we do?"

Ponyboy looked like he was going to pass out at any moment at this point. His eyes stung with tears as his heart was beating so quickly that it was one step away from bursting out of his chest.

"We need to get him to the hospital," Darrel finally declared, fog clearing out from around his brain. "Something's wrong with his breathing."

The family nodded as Ponyboy was scooped up and held tightly. He struggled against the hold, finding it constricting, as they raced to their vehicle. Darry sat in the front so Mrs. Curtis could stay by Ponyboy's side during the whole ordeal.

"I can't breathe," Ponyboy wheezed, breath airy and strained like he was being strangled.

Mrs. Curtis looked at him pitifully, rubbing his back. "Sit up straight and put your hands behind your head," she soothed. Ponyboy did so, feeling his lungs stretch a bit. It didn't make the situation any better though. It still felt like he was breathing through a straw.

"I can't breathe," he chanted over and over again.

"It's going to be okay," Mrs. Curtis soothed. "You're going to be alright."

"My chest hurts."

"I know, baby. I know. It'll be over soon. The doctor is going to fix you right up."

Once they were at the hospital, they rushed into the ER where he was immediately taken back. Mr. and Mrs. Curtis followed behind the medics while Soda and Darry stayed in the waiting room despite their objections. They were just as worried as their parents were. They wanted to be by Ponyboy's side just as much as they did. But they knew that arguing would do more harm than good, so they sat down in the waiting room chairs.

Ponyboy sat down, still hyperventilating, as a breathing mask was placed over his face. Strong air pressure blew into his mouth whenever he opened it. Almost immediately, breathing became easier, like whatever was blocking air from coming into his body was being pushed away. His ragged breathing turned into coughs.

The doctor pressed a stethoscope against his chest and back, listening intently. He asked many questions, which Ponyboy could hardly answer. One of which was if he had something go down his throat. Pony shook his head weakly.

"He was playing tag with his brothers when this happened," Darrel clarified. The doctor nodded in understandment, eyes lighting up knowingly as he removed the breathing mask. He reached into a drawer and pulled out nose clips. He placed them over Ponyboy's nose so he could only breathe through his mouth. The doctor then reached over to grab a tube-like device. "We're going to a simple spirometry test. Put this end in your mouth," the doctor instructed and Ponyboy quickly complied, sealing his lips around the mouthpiece after his breathing mask was removed. "Perfect. Now gently breathe in all the way and breathe out."

Ponyboy did, although he found it difficult to do so. His lungs were screaming at him and it was amazing that he wasn't out cold yet. He closed his eyes, sucking in, finding that it helped with his breathing before letting it out again, body relaxing a bit.

"Okay, now take a huge breath and breathe out with all your might!"

Ponyboy took a fast breath in, which was easier than the slower one, and breathed out with so much force that he ran out of breath in a few seconds. The room spun around him, even more so than it was before. He started to lean forward but Darrel held onto his shoulder to keep him upright.

"Nice job!" the doctor reached over and removed it from his mouth before he had the chance to breathe again. He carefully examined the meter that was on the device before jotting stuff down on a document. He kept nodding to himself, not saying anything, which annoyed Mr. and Mrs. Curtis. They were normally collected and nice people, but this was their baby boy. They wanted to know what was wrong with him. The suspense was killing them. Finally, the doctor muttered, "Okay, it's just what I thought."

"What's wrong?" Mrs. Curtis asked, eyebrows scrunching together in worry.

"His airways are swelled and pretty clogged with mucus. In other words, he has asthma."

"Asthma?"

"Yes. It's nothing serious. Many children have it."

"But how will it affect him?"

"It shouldn't affect him too much. Ponyboy should be fine, but he needs to make sure he has an inhaler on him just in case he has an asthma attack. He can pick up an inhaler at the pharmacy and he could be on his way."

"That's it?"

"That's it. Every once in a while, he would need to pick up a new inhaler though. He also should be more careful when it comes to stuff like stress, exercise, and allergies. He could still do exercise—he should still—but not as rigorously as everyone else."

"Oh. I thought it was something serious," Mrs. Curtis sighed out in relief, clutching at her heart.

"Not at all. In fact, most symptoms go away when you're older, at least that's the case for most people with asthma. He might not even need an inhaler in a few years."

"Really?"

"Really." The doctor gave the family a reassuring smile. "Are there any more questions?"

She shook her head. "No. Thank you."

With that, the family left the hospital after paying the fee and getting the inhaler. Darry and Soda bounced up when they saw them again, demanding answers, but their parents looked exhausted as if the stress was finally slowing them down.

"We'll tell you in the car," Darrel answered. There was no more talking after that until they were driving back home. In the car, Ponyboy was staring out the window dejectedly. He flipped his new inhaler in his hand absentmindedly.

"What's that?" Soda asked, pointing to the inhaler.

"An inhaler?" Ponyboy mumbled, pursing his lips.

"What does it do?"

"I don't know." During the entire conversation, Ponyboy didn't look at Soda, something that everyone in the car noticed.

"What's wrong?" Darrel asked, looking at him through the rearview mirror.

For a long moment, Ponyboy stayed silent. It was so long that Darrel almost dropped the question. "Mommy, Daddy, why am I different?" Ponyboy finally replied quietly, loud enough for the occupants in the car could hear.

"Different?" Darry asked, eyeing him curiously.

"You're not different!" Mrs. Curtis exclaimed, turning around as much as she could in the front seat. "What would make you think that?"

Ponyboy fidgeted with the inhaler. "Because I have asthma."

"You're not different because of that! You can still do almost whatever everyone else does and other people have asthma as well. It will be harder to do sports, but you can still do them. The symptoms might even go away when you get older."

"I'm going to be the only person who has it in school."

"There's someone in my class who asthma," Darry commented, speaking up.

"Bet he's made fun of a lot," Ponyboy muttered.

"No! He's really into basketball and has a lot of friends!" Ponyboy looked at Darry with disbelief. "It's true!"

"Ponyboy, nothing is going to really change. It'll take time to get used to asthma, but you'll be surprised on who actually has it," Darrel said with a frown.

Pony pouted. "But I don't want asthma! It's not fair!"

"I know, baby," Mrs. Curtis soothed. "It'll be alright though. You probably would hardly even notice that you have it most of the time."

"If you say so…" Ponyboy still looked unsure.

"How about this. To help you keep your mind off of your asthma, how about we go out and get some ice cream?"

Instantly, Ponyboy's face brightened up. His parents couldn't help but smile at how much he looked like an excited puppy.

"Do you want that?"

"Yeah!" Ponyboy cheered, asthma slipping from his mind just like that. He would have to worry about it another time. Right now, ice cream was all that mattered.

**o-o-o**

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